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which acquired tracts of land along the Rhine, including the Ruhr, that contained the
iron and coal deposits on which its military might would be rebuilt.
he war was followed by an era of reaction and oppression, which did so much
to stifle intellectual and cultural life in Berlin that the philosopher Wilhelm von
Humboldt resigned from the university in protest at the new authoritarianism.
Gradually this mellowed out into the Biedermeier years , characterized by the retreat
into private and family life, tranquil art and Neoclassical architecture. Meanwhile,
Prussia's industrial fortunes began to rise, laying the foundation of its Great Power
status. Berlin continued to grow: factories and railways and the first of the city's
Mietskaserne , or tenement buildings , were constructed - foreshadowing what was to
come with full industrialization.
Revolution and reaction
Berlin enjoyed more than thirty years of peace and stability after 1815, but shared the
revolutionary mood that swept Europe in 1848 . Influenced by events in France and the
writings of Karl Marx (who lived here from 1837 to 1841), Berliners demanded a say
in the running of their own affairs. King Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1795-1861) refused to
agree. On March 18, citizens gathered outside his palace to present their demands. he
soldiers who dispersed them accidentally fired two shots and the demonstration became
a revolution . Barricades went up and a fourteen-hour battle raged, with rich and poor
alike joining in. During the fighting 183 Berliners and eighteen soldiers died.
Aghast at his subjects' anger, Friedrich Wilhelm IV ordered his troops to withdraw
to Spandau, leaving the city in the hands of the revolutionaries, who established a
parliament and citizens' militia, but lacked direction: rather than assaulting Spandau,
declaring a republic or seizing public buildings, the new assembly concerned itself with
law and order. On March 21, the king appeared in public wearing the tricolour black,
red and gold emblem of the revolution. Having failed to suppress it, he now proposed to
join it. He spoke, promising nothing much but paying lip service to the idea of German
unity, which impressed the assembled liberals. Order was fully restored, then in October,
a Prussian army under General Wrangel entered Berlin and forced the dissolution of
parliament . Berliners either gave up or followed millions of fellow Germans into exile.
Suppression followed. Friedrich gave up the tricolour and persecuted liberals, before
going insane shortly afterwards. His brother Prince Wilhelm - who had led the troops
against the barricades - became king. Otto von Bismarck was appointed chancellor (1862),
despite the almost universal loathing he inspired among Berliners. Meanwhile, Berlin
continued to grow apace, turning into a cosmopolitan, modern industrial city. Its free press
and revolutionary past exerted a liberal influence on Prussia's emasculated parliament, the
Reichstag , to the irritation of Bismarck and the king (who was soon to proclaim himself
emperor, or Kaiser). However, Bismarck became a national hero after Prussian victory at
the Battle of Königgrätz (1866) smashed Austrian military power, clearing the way for
Prussia to unite - and dominate - Germany. Although militaristic nationalism caused
liberalism to wither elsewhere, Berlin continued to elect liberal Reichstag deputies, which
became the parliament of the whole nation after German unification in 1871.
Berlin remained a maverick city. It was here that three attempts were made to kill
Emperor Wilhelm I; the final one on Unter den Linden (1878) left him with thirty
1618
1685
The Thirty Years' War begins. It has a devastating
impact on Berlin with a third of houses damaged
and half of the population left dead.
Friedrich Wilhelm offers asylum to the Huguenots.
More than 15,000 come to Brandenburg and six
thousand settle in Berlin.
 
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